The necessary proximity of Darwin the developing scientist and questioner to a Fitzroy who had all the (Biblical) “answers” already led, for Darwin, to conflicted ideas and his development as one of the first dialectical materialists. Most histories however portray a respectful relationship between the two men.

On his return Darwin spent the next 40 years in active research and publication.

But two lesser-known facts stand out from his life.

Firstly, Darwin suffered from a continuing and chronic illness, involving nausea, vomiting and frequent bed-bound periods, due to which he was often unable to work.

Rather more satisfactory was the fact that his relatively secure financial background enabled him to speculate in shares in the then growing railway system.

But Darwin himself was far from the revolutionary conclusions of his great contemporary Karl Marx.

In the book Darwin’s Blind Spot Ryan explains that “at the time the Origin (of Species) was published, imperialism was the dominant … ethos in Europe … and the Britain in which Darwin lived as a comfortable country squire was the greatest imperial power since the Roman empire.”

At that time, “Darwinism was in perfect harmony with imperialism … the national expression of the evolutionary paradigm … the just reward for quality and struggle … Darwin eschewed any extension of his views to politics (but) his successors had no hesitation in carrying his ideas into more controversial areas.”

From Ryan’s insight we may understand how Darwin’s work has been misused by later ideologists – and misunderstood by well-meaning admirers.

Rather more sinister is the eclipse of that other great evolutionary scientist Wallace.

Let us hope that the Natural History Museum’s programme will right this historic wrong.

In a 2008 collection of essays edited by a science librarian from the US and a senior curator from the museum Wallace’s intellectual legacy is examined.

What is beyond doubt is that, by his memoir sent from the Malay archipelago to Darwin in 1858, Wallace was instrumental in kick-starting the Linnaean Society’s meeting on evolution.

If that is true, why has history not brought us the name of Wallace as prominently as that of Darwin?

Perhaps the reason lies in the fact that Wallace was an advocate of socialism at a time when the imperialist ethos referred to above by Ryan was already being questioned by Marx and similar thinkers and activists.

Certainly Wallace later became involved in the then fashionable craze for spiritualism.

But his achievements in the promulgation of the science of evolution should not be ignored. Hopefully this year’s series of lectures will greatly aid in establishing another great scientist’s reputation.

January 2013. A major new 25 year partnership project to provide a safe future for internationally important seabird populations on the Isles of Scilly has been given the green light with major funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and the EU LIFE programme being secured.

14 species of sea bird

The islands are home to breeding populations of 14 species and approximately 20,000 birds. This includes storm petrel and Manx shearwater for which the UK has a global responsibility. Since 1983 though these populations have been in decline and one out of four birds lost.

The project has a number of aims including the protection and restoration of seabird islands, increasing the number of people actively involved in seabird conservation, and enabling the islands to make the most of these assets by providing better access and enjoyment for people, which provides the income for islanders that will help secure the future of these birds.

Rats

One of the major threats to the seabirds is predation of eggs and chicks by rats. Work over the last 15 years on the uninhabited islands has left them rat-free but further work is required to maintain them as seabird friendly. With the support of the local community, conservationists now have the same ambition for the inhabited islands of St Agnes and Gugh.

Paul St Pierre, RSPB Conservation Officer, said; “As well as seeking to bolster the population of seabirds, we want our project to involve more people in the celebration, enjoyment and protection of the islands’ seabird heritage.”

“The Isles of Scilly has long traded rightly on the quality of its natural environment and seabirds are a major element of that. Who can imagine a trip here in spring or summer, for instance, without trying to see the puffins? We want this project to help these islands make more of their seabird heritage and to strengthen still further its image as a seabird-friendly destination through the use of various media, including web technology, for an ever wider audience.

“Those involved will be working closely with the local community to help them make the most of this important part of the islands’ economy. In sharing this experience with similar communities elsewhere, we hope this will encourage and support others in giving their seabirds a brighter future.”

David Mawer, Senior Conservation Warden, Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust said: “This is a very exciting project and will bring many benefits to wildlife, locals and visitors, and crucially it will safeguard Annet, Scilly’s most important seabird reserve. The successful removal of rats from the uninhabited island of St. Helen’s resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of Manx shearwaters breeding there. The eerie cries and shadowy silhouettes of seabirds at dusk could soon be another wildlife spectacle enjoyed by locals and visitors on St. Agnes. To hear storm petrels singing magically from within the boulder beaches would be really wonderful. Seabirds already attract visitors to Scilly, and this project and the clever use of technology can reveal more of their fascinating lives, whilst leaving the seabirds free from unwanted disturbance.”

About 150 members of Greece’s Pakistani community had gathered outside Athens City Hall earlier to pray and pay their respects to Shehzad Luqman, a Pakistani killed in a suspected race attack on Thursday.

Mourners unfurled a banner by his coffin that read in Greek and English: “Punishment to the fascist murderers of Shehzad Luqman.”

The community’s leader Javied Aslam said: “We want to be peaceful. We are simple workers, and we will not do what the fascists do.

“In the last three years they have attacked 700 to 800 people.

It’s the job of the police to arrest these people and send them to jail.”

Charlie Kimber, national secretary of the Socialist Workers Party, reminded people that Greece’s ruling parties had targeted immigrants before the growth of Golden Dawn. He said, “New Democracy has rounded up 60,000 immigrants and is holding 4,500 of them in concentration-style camps.”

Many linked up the struggle against fascism here with that in Greece. John Whitfield from Chelmsford came to the rally “because we saw off the English Defence League last October and this is the same struggle”.

Jennifer Moses, equality officer of NASUWT union, sent a message of solidarity against Golden Dawn. She said, “As austerity grows so do the Nazi attacks but the support for the campaign against them is global and shows our strength. We must not let the Nazis infiltrate our schools.”

Amadit Singh from the CWU post workers’ union told the rally, “I’m here to bring solidarity to the comrades in Greece who are standing against Golden Dawn and all they stand for.”

Around 15 Nazis turned up – but hundreds of protesters chanting, “Nazi scum off our streets” drowned them out.

Weyman Bennett, joint chair of UAF, ended the rally. “Never again will we allow the gas chambers of Treblinka, the pink triangle or racist murders on our streets,” he said. “We struggle together and we will win together”.

January 2013. A new species of burrowing lizard has been discovered in Madagascar by an international team led by French researchers. Named Sirenoscincus mobydick in reference to the famous albino sperm whale from Herman Melville’s novel, this species has a combination of unique anatomical features that make it stand out amongst terrestrial vertebrates. At the origin of the diversity of life forms, evolution is a modification of the genetic and morphological characters of species over generations. It means that a species will adapt to the environment in which it lives in order to increase and measure its chances of survival in this environment.

The “Moby Dick” lizard discovered in the dry forests of Northwestern Madagascar is very different from other species of legless lizards. In addition to a lack of skin pigment, as it spends its whole life burrowing underground, it has almost completely lost its eyes. This new species of lizard, which spends most of its life burrowing in sand, also lost its legs.

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its grave concern over the escalated use of torture against journalists by the authorities in Bahrain. The BCHR received concerning reports on the well-being of Ahmed Humaidan (25 years old) who was kidnapped by fifteen security officers, in civilian clothing, on the 29th of December, 2012. [1]

Humaidan’s family stated that Ahmed was subjected to psychological torture, which is believed to have caused him to mentally break-down. According to his family, Humaidan was forced to stand up for hours while being handcuffed and blindfolded in a very cold room. He informed his family that while he was blindfolded and handcuffed at the CID “Criminal Investigation Department” they forced him to hold an unknown object and interrogators told him that its was a timed bomb set to explode. The unknown object was in his hands for hours. He was constantly monitored during this time, and was screamed at if he moved so much as a finger.

Furthermore, Humaidan informed his family that while being interrogated and forced to confess to a crime that he claims he did not commit, interrogators threatened that they will accuse his brothers of crimes if he did not confess. The interrogators named his brothers and randomly selected charges that they would arbitrarily bring against them.

The BICI report from November 2011 documented similar death threats and psychological torture were widely employed during interrogation sessions. This is a clear indication that the authorities have failed to reform their methods of interrogation. Another example of such psychological torture documented in the BICI report states that:

“On 8 May, the detainee went to court and was cursed and sexually harassed in the car on the way there. He was taken to the side of the court for “executions”. A guard told him, “It is a long time since we executed anyone.” – [5]

Prior to Humaidan’s arrest, he was in hiding since April 2012 after he received news that he was a target for charges that he claims he is innocent of. Some of those charges include “demonstrating illegally” and “using violence to assault police and damage public properties” during the demonstrations in the Sitra province. [4]

His family responded by stating: “Ahmed is a well-known photographer and a member of a number of societies, he doesn’t wear a mask or hide his identity while taking photos because he believes he has the right to practice his work of documenting and his passion for photography”.

Ahmed’s family described the 9 months that he was targeted by the authorities as a nightmare. Masked policemen raided his family home on five separate occasions, mostly between midnight and dawn. Then police also began raiding his relatives’ homes, such as his grandfather and his uncles, in their search for him. For weeks, Ahmed’s family did not hear any news from him and did not know where he slept or lived. Subsequently, he was fired from his job.

Humaidan was denied access to his lawyer, although as of January 19th his lawyer is now present during interrogation. He was scheduled to meet with his lawyer in court on the 17th of January 2012, but the prison authorities did not transport him to this meeting.

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights believes that the arbitrary arrest of Ahmed Humaidan is solely related to his legitimate work as a photographer and his activity in documenting protests and police attacks, which has led to exposing the severe human rights violations by the authorities in Bahrain.

The BCHR demands:

• The immediate intervention of the international community, human rights groups and the United Nations to put an end to the arbitrary arrests and brutal torture practices employed by Bahrain’s Security Forces.
• For the Bahraini authorities to release photographer Ahmed Humaidan, and other detainees imprisoned for their views and their peaceful work as observers of demonstrations, immediately and unconditionally.
• We demand the Bahraini government to allow the practice of freedom of expression without being targeted for physical and judicial harassment.

In connection with this horrific humanitarian tragedy, the people of the West Sulawesi Province will hold the 2nd Congress of the People of Mandar on Saturday, February 2, 2013 at the Assammalewuang Building, Jl. Jend. Gatot Subroto, Majene – West Sulawesi.

The Governor of the Province of West Sulawesi, H. Anwar Adnan Shaleh will open the Congress.

Keynote speaker: Salim Mengga, Chairman of the Organisation of the People of Mandar, West Sulawesi

The World Health Organisation has said there are no safe limits for mercury consumption, which can cause brain and kidney damage, memory loss and language impairment.

Switzerland and Norway began pushing a decade ago for such a mercury treaty.

But governments approved exceptions for uses such as measuring devices for which there are no mercury-free alternatives, vaccines where mercury is used as a preservative and products used in religious or traditional activities.

The amount of mercury found in the top 300 feet of the world’s oceans has doubled in the past 100 years, while rivers and lakes hold an estimated 260 tons of mercury previously held in soils.